Last
night I attended one of the best poetry gigs I’ve ever been to. And I get
the impression not a single poetry book was sold.
At
Salford’s The Eagle Inn, whilst BBC Radio 6 celebs supped in the front, the
back room played host to Word War’s Champions of Champions Slam where 10 of
their previous winners and runners-up each shared two poems (3 mins max).
Hosted
and organised by super team Kieren King and Ella Gainsborough, the night was a
diverse and raucous affair, with a mixture of warm story-telling, intense
politics, surreal stand-up poetry and personal truths. There were
tears. Though, as far as I could tell,
the only slammer with a book to plug was the heartfelt writer Ciaran Hodgers (guest
at the next Say Owt Slam).
The
Guardian recently ran an article declaring POETRY
SALES SOAR. Pretty good news after their 2013 article POETRY
SALES PLUMMET. Their 2019 article says this is down to 1.
Millennials and 2. the need for collective understanding after critical
events such as the Manchester bombing and Grenfell.
Certainly
it’s true Millennials are drawn to the spoken word mantle after growing up on a
diet of mainstream hip-hop and New Labour education systems that featured
Benjamin Zephaniah and John Agard. Of course our click/share biteszie
culture doesn’t hurt. Spoken word
(especially the 3 min slam format) appeals to our Millennial need for an
immediate, digetable experience. But
that’s not to say members of Gen X and BabyBoomers are making exciting and
relevant poetry, a testament to the scene’s reach.
In
terms of a collective sharing, at Word War’s CoC, Kieran King shared his poem Salford
Is A Broadway Musical, a beautiful lovesong to his hometown. The
audience joined in with thick gusto, making this no longer a simple poem but a
electric sharing, an outpouring of communal love and a bloody good laugh
celebrating home and the scene.
I
recently toured the UK with my book, Nerd
Punk, published by Burning Eye.
I work with Say Owt and we focus on the performance of poetry and the
liveness, but nevertheless Inua Ellams, Hollie NcNish, Rob Auton, Jemima
Foxtrot, Jess Green and the aforementioned Ciaran Hodgers all part of Say
Owt’s programming have books for sale. These poets (well,
maybe expect Hollie), don’t tend to sell books by the bucketload.but more as
mementos to remember the live event, to revisit the words presented by the
poet.
Yes,
poetry sales might be up but that’s because audiences (and especially
millennials) spend time and energy and money on experiences. The books
bought are a way to help capture when you cheered, laughed, cried and shared.
